


Set Things Right

by OmniscientOranges



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Episode AU: s15e20 Carry On, Episode Fix-It: s15e20 Carry On, Episode: s15e20 Carry On, Fix-It, M/M, Newly Human Castiel (Supernatural), because hes only dead for like 10 seconds i promise, not tagging this mcd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:01:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27681914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OmniscientOranges/pseuds/OmniscientOranges
Summary: There's a massive bar piercing between Dean's shoulder blades, because of course there is.Happy ending my ass,Dean thinks hysterically,is this really how I'm gonna go?"I'll go get the first aid kit," Sam runs out of the barn. Cas moves to follow before-"Cas, wait. Wait," Cas meets Dean's eyes, and Cas feels like he's the one run through for a second. Looking at Dean, he'sscared.He'ssoscared. Dean's spent his whole life pretending he wasn't, but all the walls are down now - and he'sterrified."Stay. Don't leave me."-Basically a slight AU where they pulled Cas out of the empty before they go to the vamp nest so he's with them and it's not like, depressing as hell.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 7
Kudos: 88





	Set Things Right

**Author's Note:**

> I'm appropriating this scene from the bronlys and I do not apologize

They're standing outside a barn, ready to take it easy and decapitate some vamps.

"Here, man, you'll need this," Dean says, holding out a worn machete to Cas.

It's only been a few weeks since Dean pulled Cas out of the empty. Since they found the ultimate loophole and cut out his grace. Because after all, the empty's in the business of housing angels and demons - not humans. Cas is still getting the hang of it again, the brushing his teeth and needing to eat and needing to sleep and needing to change his clothes more than once every 4 years. Though on days like these, _hunts_ like these, the hardest adjustment for him is that he can't just press his fingertips to whatever monster of the day it is and be done with it. He takes the machete Dean offers him, and looks away awkwardly when his fingers brush Dean's.

They still hadn't talked about it. What Cas had said, what Dean didn't. The first day it was because Cas was knocked out cold from the shock of coming back from the dead - completely reasonable reason. The next few days it was because he needed to recover, which Dean also saw as another completely reasonable reason not to say anything. _Don't wanna lay too much on the guy all at once, let him get his bearings first. There's plenty of time._ For the next several days, that bled into a next few weeks, Dean had a harder and harder time finding completely reasonable reasons. But still, they hadn't talked.

Dean swallows, "Right, well, let's get to it."

-

There's a massive bar piercing between Dean's shoulder blades, because _of course_ there is. _Happy ending my ass,_ Dean thinks hysterically, _is this really how I'm gonna go?_

"I'll go get the first aid kit," Sam runs out of the barn. Cas moves to follow before-

"Cas, wait. Wait," Cas meets Dean's eyes, and Cas feels like he's the one run through for a second. Looking at Dean, he's _scared_. He's _so_ scared. Dean's spent his whole life pretending he wasn't, but all the walls are down now - and he's _terrified._ "Stay. Don't leave me."

Cas keeps his eyes locked with Dean's like he's done a million times before, and he realizes he's scared too. "Okay," he nods, "Okay, I'll stay."

"Could you come here, man."

Cas takes a few hesitant steps forward.

"Come on, come here," Dean holds his hand up a bit, and when Cas steps close enough he lays it over his heart. _The same place I stabbed him when we first met. Ironic, looking back._ "There he is, hey, there he is."

"You're going to be okay, Dean," Cas says, with such certainty that it's like he's trying to convince the universe of it. Like he's trying to force it to be an inarguable truth. _Dean Winchester will be okay._

"So are you."

Cas shakes his head, face scrunching up and tears welling over his eyes, "Don't- don't say that."

"I'm so proud of you, you know that? You know, you said you changed for me, but you changed for _you_ , Cas. Because it was the right thing to do. You always do the right thing, or-" and Dean cuts himself off with a shaky laugh, "you try to. And that's- that's the part that matters. You try."

"I can't heal you," Cas chokes out, "the one time, the _one time_ you really need it, and I'm useless."

"No," Dean says firmly, he needs Cas to hear this, because it's feeling like it might be the last chance he gets to say it. "No, hey, you're not useless, Cas. And we don't keep you around- I don't keep you around to be useful anyways. I want you around because I want to be around you."

"But if I could-"

"But you can't. And that's okay. It's okay, Cas."

Cas shakes his head harder, _refuses_ to take this, _refuses_ to accept it. "Don't leave me, Dean. Please, I can't do this without you. Don't make me do this without you," and Dean moves his hand to wipe away the tears that track down Cas' face.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm always gonna be with you, got it? Always."

Cas lets out a quiet sob, and moves forward to press his forehead to Dean's, "Please, please, Dean. _Please_ don't do this. Don't do this to me. We're so close, so close to a normal life, don't do this now."

"It was always gonna be like this."

"No. We won, Dean. We beat this ending. It shouldn't happen like this."

"Some things you can't outrun. And that's okay, sometimes you gotta know when to quit."

Cas sobs louder, can't stop himself. Dean sees his face turn red, and he wonders, fleetingly, if Cas has ever cried like this before.

Cas takes a deep breath out, "I love you, Dean."

Dean nods his head slightly, _last chance_ , "I love you too, Cas."

It's unclear who moves first, how it happens, but in a moment they're pressing their lips together. It's a soft thing, anything more and they might break under the weight of it. The grief that this is all they'll get. All they were allowed to get.

They pull apart, only a few centimeters, only enough space to take a breath in. Cas feels it. He feels Dean start to slip away. Deep in his chest, where his soul would sit if he had it, and for a moment he thinks he must have one. Must have grown one for this moment, just to feel it hold onto Dean's. Cas blinks hard at the tears burning in his eyes to push them away, he wants to take it all in. He doesn't want to miss a second of looking at Dean, not if these are the last ones he'll get.

"Don't do this, Dean, please don't do this- please don't go."

"It's okay, it's okay, Cas. I'm right here. I'm here." And at that Dean's head drops forward, lands softly on Cas' shoulder. He doesn't have to check Dean's pulse to know.

" _No,_ " Cas wraps one arm around Dean's waist and one around the back of his neck, pulling him in. "No, please, please don't do this. God, _please, please don't._ " And he buries his face into Dean's hair, grasping at him, like if he pulls hard enough he can put him back together like he did before. "God, _please_ don't."

Cas doesn't hear it in his heartbreak, but it's there. A brief flap of wings.

"Cas?" Jack asks, laying a hand on Cas' shoulder.

Cas lifts his head and turns, "Jack! What, what are you-"

Before Cas can finish he watches Jack reach his hand around Dean's back and pull him forward, putting two fingers to Dean's forehead at the same time.

It's sudden. It's the most beautiful sound Cas has ever heard.

Dean takes a breath.

He breathes in hard, panting, "holy- holy shit. What-" and Dean's eyes fall on Jack, "Jack?"

"Hi, Dean," Jack smiles, still looking every bit the kid that he is, despite the godliness.

Dean smiles back, and shakes his head in disbelief. "Thought you were taking the hands-off approach?"

"The Winchesters always get an exception," Jack asserts. There's that inarguable fact, _Dean Winchester will be okay._

Dean reaches his hand up and pats Jack on the cheek, "Thanks, kid."

"Dean," Cas whispers, and takes Dean's face in his hands. Dean lets his arm fall away from Jack and drops it around Cas' hip.

"Hey, Cas. Guess you can't get rid of me that easy, huh?"

Cas answers with a kiss, one more firm than the last one they'd had, but free. With the knowledge they've got a lot more where that came from.

Sam bursts through the barn doors, "Okay, I'm back. I got the-" he looks up to take in the scene around him, eyes finally landing on Jack. "Jack, what-"

Jack turns to Sam with that same calm smile on his face, "Just here to set something right."

Sam looks at Jack in awe and slowly steps towards Dean. Timidly raises his hand up to grip his shoulder, moving like he's afraid it'll just pass right through. When it doesn't, he asks, "Dean, hey, you okay?"

Dean lifts his head up with an easy smile, "Just fine, Sammy."

Sam huffs out a small laugh in return.

Jack breaks the moment then, "Well, I should go."

Cas finally turns his eyes away from Dean, "No, Jack, stay," he says, both a question and an insistence, "Surely you can't be that busy?"

"I-" Jack pauses, looking around at everyone in front of him. Looking at his _family_. "I guess I can stay for a little while."

Dean claps Jack on the back, "Great, because I know the best burger joint about 15 miles from here, and you've earned one," Dean says, with his patented goofy smile plastered on his face, pointing a finger at Jack.

"I think we've all earned one," Jack replies.

"Yeah, kid, I think you're right."

With that, the Winchesters start to walk out of the barn. Sam falls in step next to Jack, starting up a conversation about what could only be assumed to be either cosmic god stuff or the latest episode of Riverdale (that Sam 100% did not start watching after Jack left. 100% did not). As can be expected of them, Dean and Cas gravitate next to each other like they were built to walk shoulder to shoulder. Dean elbows Cas softly in the ribs and shoots him a smile. Cas smiles back, and threads his fingers through Dean's.

The burgers actually weren't half bad.

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a theory I saw that maybe… maybe Dean’s speech to Sam was actually originally written to be 2 different speeches. Who’s to say? Also, please suspend your disbelief as to how long it took Sam to grab the first aid kit. 
> 
> Check me out on tumblr, where I am unfortunately submitting to the mortifying ordeal: https://omniscientoranges.tumblr.com/


End file.
